By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
In his first rather challenging season with Barcelona, Georgios Bartzokas still has faith in the project, while he insists that, for the time being, winning titles is not a priority.
With the Spanish team holding a poor 46% of wins (23 losses so far in the season), Bartzokas has his own explanation for this negative streak. “I think we can not compare this season with the previous ones, given the new Euroleague format. These are no easy games. Teams like CSKA, Real Madrid or Fenerbahçe are also losing more games than expected”, mentions the coach on Mundo Deportivo.
“I’m not happy with our season so far, but everyone can see that we are in the middle of a team reconstruction. And that means new philosophy, with a new coach, which is very difficult when you’ve worked with the previous one for so many years. This process takes time. On the other hand, the circumstances have not helped us either, with so many injuries.”
Bartzokas also notes that he didn’t have the chance to build the team the way he would be comfortable with, since Barcelona already had 13 active contracts of players and in mid-July, the market options were limited.
The Greek coach recognizes it’s a transitional season for the Catalans: “Everyone, especially the coaches, work day by day. You have to go game by game. If you ask the management of the club, they will tell you we are in a constant transition. Probably because there is a new coach and the team has to be rebuilt. Now we must do everything possible to develop our game and our mentality for the rest of the season and then we will see. That is the priority now, not the titles.”